GST – Good for common man?

GST stands for Goods and Services Tax (India). GST is an indirect taxation which combines other taxes into single form of taxation. It was introduced as The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act 2016. The GST is administered and governed by GST Council and its Chairman is Union Finance Minister of India Arun Jaitley.
As the GST reaches its final stages, the historic legislation promises to unify the tax system for the nation and increase the GDP by 2 per cent.
Suppose for a retail product of value Rs.1000, there is total tax of Rs.250 charged at various levels from the raw material/input suppliers to the final retailer. Cosumers are paying taxes on taxes.
Consumers are confronted with indirect taxes (service tax, VAT, excise) almost on daily basis. With GST, there will be a single tax for all transactions – movie tickets, food, grocery, travel etc.
Whether the prices rise or fall will depend largely on the rate of GST, which is not announced as of now.
Services will get more expensive if GST is implemented as states will now have the services under their net and hence it will mean they can fix higher rates,” said DK PANT, chief economist, India ratings-Fitch ratings.
Rajan Mathews, Cellular Operators Association of India told India Today, “Under the GST, the tax rate is bound to go up and the telecom operators will have to pass it on to the consumers, we can look at internet packs and call rates getting higher.”
“E-commerce will see revision of its tax compliance and its time we understand the industry in India. But consumers can benefit from lower logistical cost and faster delivery. Overall tax collection will be a challenge, Harishankar Subramaniam, National Leader, Indirect Tax.

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